As countries wrestle with the as-yet unknown economic fallout from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, analyses done in the United States in recent years have attracted new attention, as they strongly suggest there is only a narrow timeframe available in which to prevent a wholesale collapse of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The problem may not be immediately obvious, but it is easy enough to understand: SMEs generally do not have substantial cash reserves, if any at all. In fact, most of them are less financially prepared to weather a calamity than the average middle-class household.